hawairish

The truck has definitely seen some use and abuse since my install, but not so much lately (and with the near 6" of lift, it's even more out of reach). Where the rear has typically been prone to the most damage is up around Sedona with all the rock-steps. If it weren't for my trailer hitch bearing the brunt of things, I'm not sure how the carrier may have faired. I'm thinking maybe I need some sort of hitch-mount slider or something to protect the tire, just in case.

@mjotrainbrain @RedPath88 Can you close this thread, or merge with this other one?

Vibrations at a certain range usually imply a driveshaft issue, and that could be front or rear driveshaft. A bad differential would produce significant noise over vibration. Constant vibrations tend to be wheel/tire related. I agree that the drums or shoes would be a significant source of vibrations, and if they were the source, you'd be able to quickly rule it out (apply the brakes and see if the vibe stops). I had some open questions about the severity of the vibrations, and if you're sure they're coming from the rear and whether they are felt throughout the truck, or even in the steering wheel. The simplest thing to do is rotate the tires around and see if the issue continues and/or travels around. How are the shocks? An unbalanced tire and a worn shock may produce vibrations. If the vibes seem like they could come from the front, and you don't have manual hubs, the issue could be the front driveshaft. Check front and rear drive shaft run-out. Check play in u-joints. Bad run-out or joints will absolute cause vibrations at a given speed range.

I put those dimensions here with another post of mine regarding links: Also, if the links end up working, they're dirt cheap at Rock Auto...like <$4 each before shipping.

Adding some dimensions for OE links. Pic for general reference: Overall length (center of joint stud to end of top post): 8-1/4" Install length (center of joint stud to center of post bushings, uncompressed): 6-7/8" (compression probably reduces it by 1/8" to 1/4") Post length: 2-1/8" Post thread length: 3/4" Joint stud length: 7/8" Shaft diameter: .395" (might vary on OE vs. aftermarket) Threads (both ends): M10 x 1.25

I presume you mean driveshaft through the differential (I haven’t read this thread due to the age). Should be very little, almost not detectable. Also presumes you’ve got the wheels held stationary (tires on ground, parking brake on).

Nope, should need nothing. If Harrop says it won’t fit R50s because it believes the truck uses thrust blocks, then Harrop is wrong.

Roger that. I’m out of town until later today, but I’ll put those dims up when I’m home.

Constructive criticism here, of course, but I have concerns about the simplicity of the winch mounting you went with. While 1/4" is an appropriate thickness, construction from bar like that will not suffice. For one, the separation of pieces lacks rigidity and greatly limits contact points, and that applies to both the winch mount and the fairlead mount. Two, the bumper doesn't appear to be designed for direct winch use. The manufacturer indicates that it's "winch-ready" and "designed to accommodate a winch plate," but Jeeps use a winch plate/channel that spans the truck's frame horns; these bumpers are simply designed to not interfere with usage a plate, and don't bear the load. I'd be surprised if the tube was 1/8"-wall; even so, not suitable for direct winch mounting. At this point, I would strongly consider determining if a universal winch channel, like the one that HF sells, can be integrated instead. You could narrow and shape it as needed, and it would provide a continuous length to put far more welds on to distribute load across the bumper, which would also add far more rigidity to the support tubes. I'd still have concerns about where the next weak point would be without knowing how customized the mounts are, though. But as-is, I think your first real-world pull destroy the bumper.

Replies on your other post. Probably better visibility here, but we should avoid cross-posts. Perhaps a moderator can move the other one here.

I'd agree; not common but plausible. If vibration is the primary issue, I'd check for driveshaft run-out, and play/resistance on the u-joints. Also, how bad would you rate the vibrations, and do they seem to originate from the front or rear of the vehicle? Can you feel it in the steering wheel? If noise is the issue, then I'd look at the diff, but only after isolating parts of the equation (such as removing the driveshaft, keeping one tire on the ground, and lifting the other tire and rotating it to check wheel and diff bearings; or rotating the pinion flange to feel for pinion bearing play). The color of the fluid might only depend on the brand/color used; i.e., the Valvoline oil I use always has the honey/green tint, but the murkiness changes over time. It's probably not abnormal for the diff to get hot, but hot is subjective without a number. My diff gets into the 150°-175° range, measured with a pyrometer in a few spots. If you have any concerns that it's the diff, I'd drain the oil and check for metal as Slartibarfast suggested.

I pulled all the metal part from the truck for painting/bedlining (the parts, not the truck). Everything weighs over 460 lbs! No wonder my MPG has been crap for years... Also have my new Kia Telluride and the project FJ80 creeping in the background. Carnage from the sliders. Will likely modify them to avoid further damage. And finally got some lights mocked up on the bumper before removing it.

Adding @Astrorami's build link to the thread, since we completed his last weekend. His is the newer style aluminum carrier, which weighed around 36.5 lbs vs. the 58-lb steel carrier. For his, we used a 1.5" x 14" (14.5?", I don't recall already) 14ga steel strip and a bunch of 1/4" and 3/16" rivets, in addition to the rivnuts. I was very pleased with how that turned out; barely any deflection when pushing or lifting the support bracket. Admittedly, we installed the hinge mounts about 1/4" too high, which created some alignment issues with the support bracket, as well as made the lower plastic hinge cover come up over the tail light a little. Overall, pleased with the install despite that issue. The release lever on this model is lower than the older models, so it doesn't contact the valence panel on the liftgate, about a 1/4" gap. We didn't come up with a license plate mount or lighting...the aluminum frame tubing had a larger diameter than the vinyl-coated clamps that I had. Since it was very late (er, very early in the morning), we just cable tied the plate and literally taped a freebie Harbor Freight LED light to it so that he could legally drive it home that night. We also did not wire up the switch for the tire carrier cluster light that looks like a hamburger. Just like my experience, his switch did not match the harness that's there, which seems to confirm that there's some additional pigtail wiring that needs to be grabbed from a donor to avoid having to splice wires. Oh...and I also learned that long ago when I did mine, I flipped the hole opening for the switch...Astrorami gave me grief about it...the hole for the switch body is supposed to be on the right of the screw hole. I had put it on the left, and we did the same on his just because the positioning on the reinforcement template was already set (and because it doesn't really matter...you can just as easily flip the plastic depressor piece on the carrier to make it line up). Lastly, I don't recall finding any set of 5 M12x1.25 locking lug nuts when I looked years ago, but they seem to exist now. McGard 25442: http://www.mcgard.com/product/chrome-cone-seat-wheel-lock-set-m12-x-1-25-thread-size-set-of-5-locks-and-1-key/ (I'm still using the Rugged Ridge 16715.22 single wheel lock.) ... In other news, I removed my carrier from my truck the other day for bedlining, along with my bumpers, sliders, and skids. Here's how my rivnuts have held up over the years: By no means terrible. The overall damage is minimal; the indentations on the side panels are from an accidental too fast/hard opening long ago (lesson learned), but it's also apparent that at some point I dragged the tire while off-roading judging by the 4 rivets at the rear...the top two are pushed in a little (panel is dented from corner of hinge bracket), and the bottom two are bulged out a tiny amount. I never knew I did that, but if that's the extent of carnage, I can totally live with that. Naked truck...

I have R50 links handy for any dimensions you need.

Drum brake trucks with single-taper bearings used thrust blocks. Disc brake WD21 and D22 Frontiers, WD22 Xterras, and R50s (all drum brakes) used double-taper bearings, but not thrust blocks. The note about it not fitting drum brakes makes no sense because R50s only had drum brakes. My R50 is the exception. ?

Exactly. Matching a strut spacer height to the SFD spacer height has always been considered the norm...it's just not necessary. And running slightly more lift than SFD spacer height is totally acceptable, as long as you avoid having 2" more lift than SFD height.

I think they just finally got around to confirming what I already suspected about compatibility in my original post. The notes about it not fitting drum brakes makes no sense.

Correct, it’s a jig for making all the spacer components.

I’ll echo the suggestions to clean the throttle body. I had the same problem a few years ago, and I think the only thing I did in regards was cleaning it. Haven’t had that problem since.

We’re advocating their use.

Small hands, two right arms, a 1’ neck, and the willingness to consider pulling driver’s seat out if you need to breathe. Seriously one of the worst jobs I’ve ever had to do on my Frontier. At least the original part lasted 20 years.

Time for an update! Another month gone by... It's been busy the last several weeks, as usual. We've since acquired all the steel and hardware we need to do the first batch of kits. We've done a limited run of parts to validate our anticipated production processes, and things are currently in @TowndawgR50's hands to complete the first finished kits. For now, this first pass only includes a complete 3" and 4" kit (and technically the 1.75" spacer, thanks to the modular design), as well as two panhard drop bracket options: a short bracket that gives a simple 3.5" drop, and a long bracket for 3.5", 4.5", or 5.5" drops. We also intend to offer extended rear sway bar end links. Expect some teaser pics soon. We are planning to install the first 3" kit in less than 2 weeks (!!), so we're both excited and stressed. Soon after, The Gambler will get outfitted with the 4" kit. If everything goes to plan, we'll start cranking out the remaining kits for the initial group we've been working with. Also, we want to make a clarification about the camber-correction function of the strut spacers: while the two-piece strut spacers allow for camber adjustments, we are still advocating the use of camber bolts. The adjustment feature is primarily to make large camber adjustments during the installation process. You'll be able to eyeball the camber during installation, and get it dialed in relatively well, but our secondary objective is to simply make sure the truck is alignable—and for many people (including myself), this means taking the truck to a professional shop. The use of camber bolts gives alignment shops the ability to accurately dial things in, using a part/process that they are very familiar with. While we like our strut spacer approach, it will be very foreign to many shops, who may refuse to adjust them. Keep in mind that R50s didn't have camber or caster adjustability to begin with, so there's already the initial challenge of informing the shop that you've added camber adjustability. Feel free to ask any questions, otherwise more updates to follow soon!

Presuming Nissan didn’t change the design much for trucks in that era, there’s a rubber plug that the brake light switch makes contact with. It’s probably deteriorated, which means the brake switch has nothing to press against, leaving the circuit closed (brake lights on). But, I’d crawl under the dash, shine a light on the brake switch, and see if it’s missing the plug. This happened on my 98 Frontier just a few weeks ago, fully drained my battery as it sat for weeks undetected, and it was a pain to replace such a trivial and inexpensive piece.

Bax’s response is my reason. 4” SFD means moving the subframe down 1” lower to the ground than a 3”, neither affecting my total lift, just the amount of correction. That’s to say that that my setup would have the same angles as a non-SFD truck running just 1.5” of lift. If wanted to completely correct my lift, I’d need a 4.5” SFD.

Echoing the last couple replies, springs alone don’t lead to CV breakage. Neither springs nor spacers change the max extension length of the strut, but only spacers can change the max operating angle of the CV, which at around 2” of spacer lift, becomes problematic. An SFD does correct the operating angle of the CV. I think there was a minor clash in the concept/purpose of the SFD in some of the replies, but all are technically accurate. Historically, the SFD kits were previously sold as having a strut spacer that’s equal in height to the subframe spacers, and it could “stack” with whatever springs you have. That is, if you bought a 4” SFD and already had AC springs, it would yield a 6” lift on 4” SFD, but you’d still be at risk for CV binding. But if you just wanted only 4” of lift, you’d have to run stock springs. I find the notion of matching strut spacer and subframe blocks totally unnecessary, and the kits we’re producing don’t require that; you will mix and match springs and spacers to get the desired lift amount, and then offset the lift with whichever subframe blocks will keep the “net” lift to around 0”-1.5” to avoid CV binding. Case in point, I run 3” strut spacers, OME HD springs (about 1.5” lift for my setup), with a 3” SFD. I could run the exact lift setup and 4” SFD if CV angles were a concern, but I’d rather have the ground clearance.